


A True Gryffindor

by iseult_11



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Sorting, Sorting Ceremony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 18:38:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6868822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iseult_11/pseuds/iseult_11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter is brave and chivalrous. But he is not the epitome of a Gryffindor. That distinction lies with another man. The (almost) chosen one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A True Gryffindor

The Hogwarts Sorting Hat was excellent at its job. On only a few occasions had it erred and, in its defense, it had done excellent work with the information it had on hand. Furthermore, it was rare to find an ideal incarnation of the Founders' Houses. Compromises must be made during sorting. Wizards and witches were not naturally inclined to fit into such strict categories, although perhaps Muggles were not either. The Sorting Hat had never met one.  
That year, many student fell into grey territories. Fortunately, some, such as Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, had strong preferences between the Houses that presented themselves. And of course, choice was almost as important as disposition. Almost, but not quite.  
Which was why, when the Longbottom boy ascended the steps, it had taken so very long to sort him. The Sorting Hat believed in choice, just as the Founders had, but its primary objective was to take what was shown to it in the character of the student, and place him or her in the House most closely aligned.  
Neville Longbottom wanted so desperately to be a Hufflepuff. He pleaded and entreated with the Hat, telling it (indirectly, of course) of the years of disappointed expectations, the uncomfortable family gatherings, the constant feelings of inadequacy. Please, he thought, I can be loyal and hardworking. But expect no more of me. But the Hat knew its job.  
Merely to survive those years of torment and judgment spoke to this boy's character, yes, indeed. And inside, further, he saw considerable fear: fear of isolation, fear of failure, fear of disappointing those he loved. And the Hat knew better than anyone except, perhaps, Gryffindor himself, that no one can be brave unless they are afraid. Many of those it sorted into Gryffindor were reckless, drunk on their desire for glory or justice or adrenaline, but this boy was a purer form.  
If it hadn't been for this terror within Neville Longbottom, the Hat would have sorted him into Hufflepuff. But the Hat had spent centuries examining the heads of new students, and it knew better. There might be fear within Neville Longbottom, there might be insecurity, and there might be a lack of natural talent. But there was not cowardice to any degree.  
In Gryffindor, this boy would flourish, if only in small ways. He would stand up for himself, if he gained a small degree of confidence, and he would stand up for those he was loyal to without a second thought, though he might tremble in his boots to do so.  
That was a true Gryffindor, and the Hat knew its job.  
Perhaps one day, if the situation arose, this boy might even lead the charge in a grand act of defiance and bravery. But if he did not, well, the Hat knew he was capable of such. There was no purer distillation of a Gryffindor than a student who was almost a Hufflepuff. And in many ways, the reverse was true. People always seemed to associate Gryffindors and Ravenclaws together, but the Hat had been there from the beginning. Loyalty and bravery often occupied the same sphere, just as intelligence and ambition did. The Hat made no judgments on which House was the best, for each had, truly, produced great wizards and witches. It knew, however, that the purest form of bravery was motivated by love and loyalty, and that love and loyalty bred bravery in the most terrified of souls. And it knew a rare breed when it saw one. Of all the students it sorted that September, and many others, it only once wished that a Founder could have met their new House member. And that was when it sorted Neville Longbottom.  
Not, perhaps, a boy with great deeds to his name, not yet, but a boy who could achieve the greatest of accomplishments if only given the opportunity to do so.


End file.
